China in crackdown on spreading online 'rumours'

Almost 200 people punished in campaign targeting rumours about China's stock market and recent Tianjin blast.

31 Aug 2015 01:49 GMT

China has punished 197 people in a special campaign by police targeting online rumours about China's stock market, the recent fatal explosions in Tianjin and "other key events", state media reported.

No details of the punishments were given, but according to the report, the crimes punished included claiming a man had jumped to his death in Beijing due to the stock market slump and falsifying the number of people who had died in the Tianjin blasts.

Another alleged crime involved circulating "seditious" rumours about China's upcoming commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Wang was held for fabricating and spreading fake information on securities and futures market, according to Xinhua, a state-run news agency.

According to the report, Wang "confessed" that his "false information" had "caused panics and disorder at [the] stock market, seriously undermined the market confidence, and inflicted huge losses on the country and investors".

Wang wrote a story in July saying the securities regulator was studying plans for government funds to exit the market.